Share repurchases during the third quarter by companies in the S&P 500 soared 58% from a year ago to a quarterly record of $203.8 billion, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. That marks the third consecutive quarterly record, a sign that companies were using savings from the corporate tax rate cut that went into effect this year to ramp up shareholder returns. The percentage of companies that used buyback to reduced the number of outstanding shares by at least 4% increased 18%, after rising 15% in the second quarter. "Companies have used their tax savings to push up discretionary buybacks and boost earnings through significantly reduced share counts," said S&P Dow Jones Senior Index Analyst Howard Silverblatt. "The buying, while broad, continued to be top heavy, with the top 20 issues accounting for 54.3% of all S&P 500 buybacks, a level not seen since Q1 2010, when it was at 59.8%." The top share repurchases were Qualcomm Inc. , which bought back $21.1 billion worth of its shares during the third quarter, followed by Apple Inc. , which spent $19.4 billion.

Qualcomm Inc. said it believes Apple Inc. remains in violation of a Chinese court's orders to stop selling iPhones despite a software update that Apple pushed out on Monday, Reuters reported. Qualcomm said last week it had won a preliminary court order in China banning Apple from selling some older iPhone models that the court found violated two Qualcomm software patents. Apple said it believed it was in compliance with the court, but that it would update its software "to address any possible concern about our compliance with the order." The update was pushed on Monday, Apple told Reuters. Qualcomm isn't satisfied. "Despite Apple's efforts to downplay the significance of the order and its claims of various ways it will address the infringement, Apple apparently continues to flout the legal system by violating the injunctions," Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm's general counsel, told Reuters in a statement. Several media outlets, including CNBC, reported that Apple believed the court's orders applied only to iPhones running older versions of its iOS operating system. Qualcomm refutes that. Apple shares are up 0.9% in premarket trading Tuesday. Qualcomm had yet not registered an early trade; it fell 1% Monday.

U.S. stocks staged a late-day comeback Monday to push equity benchmarks into positive territory, as semiconductor shares drove the tech-heavy Nasdaq higher. The S&P 500 rose by 0.2% to end around 2,637, based on preliminary numbers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 33 points, or 0.1%, to around 24,422. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7% to around 7,021. But equities have struggled to notch a streak of positive sessions as softening global growth and simmering U.S.-China trade tensions have weighed on investor sentiment, even as economic data remains robust. In company news, Qualcomm shares rose after a Chinese court ordered Apple Inc. to stop selling older iPhone models in China for infringing two patents held by the chip manufacturer. Still, Apple shares ended slightly higher.

The latest developments in the U.S.-China tussle gave investors both good and bad news, but hopes are rising that a trade deal can be reached. Here are the companies that will gain if that happens, and those with the most to lose if it doesn’t.

A German court dismissed a patent suit from Qualcomm against Apple, the first setback in the country for the chip maker in recent weeks amid a dispute that has resulted in the ban of some iPhone sales in China and Germany.

Apple sought to avoid a ban on the sale of older iPhones in China by releasing a software update that some lawyers say could allow the company to keep selling those products in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Global investors including EQT Partners and KKR & Co. are looking at bidding for the Long Beach Container Terminal in Southern California, as are seasoned ship operators Seaspan and Hyundai Merchant Marine.

As the U.S. Justice Department pursues a criminal case against Huawei for alleged trade secret theft, it seems that the Trump administration will leave no stone unturned to ban China's smartphones from the country.

Qualcomm Inc.

QUALCOMM, Inc. engages in the development, design, and provision of digital telecommunications products and services. It operates through the following segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on technologies for the use in voice and data communications, networking, application processing, multimedia, and global positioning system products. The QTL segment grants licenses and provides rights to use portions of the firm's intellectual property portfolio. The QSI segment focuses on opening new or expanding opportunities for its technologies and supporting the design and introduction of new products and services for voice and data communications. The company was founded by Franklin P. Antonio, Adelia A. Coffman, Andrew Cohen, Klein Gilhousen, Irwin Mark Jacobs, Andrew J. Viterbi, and Harvey P. White in July 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.
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